Nick Stokes
Jillian Stokes Six unnamed siblings Sam |job= Crime Scene Investigator |rank= Lab Director, San Diego Police Department |specialty= Hair and Fiber Analysis; Entomology |status= Alive |actor= George Eads |firstappearance= Pilot |lastappearance=The End Game}} Nicholas "Nick" Stokes is a former Crime Scene Investigator at the Las Vegas Crime Lab. He was promoted assistant CSI Supervisor to Catherine Willows who became Supervisor after Grissom left. After D.B. Russell arrived, Nick was demoted; Julie Finlay has now succeeded his position. In "The End Game" (Season 15, Episode 18), Nick left Las Vegas when he was named the Director of the San Diego PD Crime Lab. Physical Appearance During Season 6 episodes A Bullet Runs Through It (Part 1 and 2) and Dog Eat Dog, Nick had an ill-advised mustache, but soon got rid of it. Despite the ill-advisery of his moustache, it made his character look more rogue and scary to suspects. He is seen throughout the series with dark hair that always stays relatively short and spiky. During Season 6, he also had some messy greaser hair. During early episodes of Season 5, 7 and 11 and late episodes of Season 9, he had a shaved head. During Season 14, he grew a beard. He is of average height and has a slim but muscular build. This comes through whenever he is chasing a suspect. In seasons 13 and 14, Nick has bulked up, but still keeps his fitness and speed when it comes to chasing down suspects. Personality Nick has a natural empathy with the people affected by the crimes he investigates. Other members of the team believe that it is better to maintain an emotional distance. This difference in outlook is a source of much comment and occasionally raised voices. Nick is chivalrous; while interviewing two girls at a wedding, he took off his jacket and gave it one of the interviewees, ending up with the victim's blood on his shirt. (Rashomama) Nick can become emotional under intense stress: he nearly cried when being held at gunpoint (Who Are You?), broke down and was on the verge of committing suicide when buried alive in a glass coffin (Grave Danger), and broke down once again in when discussing the death of the victim with Raymond Langston, and how he should have seen the danger signs over the year he had known her, and done something to prevent it (Turn, Turn, Turn).'' '' After he was shot in the left shoulder by Jekyll, when standing off against Alex McCann, he not only emptied the magazine of his gun, but proceeded to scarcely reload, he was eventually calmed by Catherine. Nick changed after he was buried alive. ("Grave Danger") He lost his temper and physically grabbed and intimidated a suspect he believed had knowledge of where a young girl was hidden. ("Gum Drops") Afterwards, Sara told Nick that she believed that six months ago, he wouldn't have lost control in the room with the suspect like that. Nick is dating the nurse he met in the hospital after saving a man. ("Seeing Red (LV)") Nick suffers emotional scars as the show goes on, aforementioned traumas caused changes, making him one of, if not the most traumatized CSIs of the three continuities. He appears extremely softhearted. In Season 13 episode 5, Nick got very close with a German Shepard he was working with to solve the murder of the dog's owner, with Nick adopting the dog at the end of the episode. Sometimes bringing him in the lab. Abilities Nick specializes in hair and fiber analysis. After Grissom left, Nick starts taking classes to become the lab's new "bug guy." ("73 Seconds") Early Life Nick seems to have had a very close relationship with his father, Bill Stokes, as they had nicknames for each other, Pancho for Nick and Cisco for Bill, most likely from the famous TV show, "The Cisco Kid" It is seen that he is very protective about his mother, but definitely not a mother's boy. Nick's father, Bill Stokes, is a judge. ("Grave Danger") His mother, Jillian Stokes, is a lawyer, and Nick is the youngest of seven children, at least one of whom is male. ("Revenge is Best Served Cold") Nick is from Austin, Texas, where he grew up playing football. Bloodsport Nick Mentions in Season 13 Episode 5 ("Play Dead") that he grew up with dogs as a child. When he was nine years old, Nick had a traumatic experience, most likely molestation, at the hands of a last-minute replacement babysitter. He never told anyone until 2001, when he confided in Catherine Willows in episode 203, Overload. Because of this Nick has trouble investigating crimes against children. Nick's alma mater is Texas A&M University. He was a member of a fraternity and is familiar with fraternity hazing, as he tells a fraternity member in the fourth episode, Pledging Mr. Johnson' Stokes spent his first three years out of college in the Dallas police force, then transferred to the Dallas crime lab, spending one year as CSI Level 1 before transferring to the Las Vegas crime lab. Season Five Grave Danger, Part 1 Nick was nearly killed when he was incapacitated using ether, put inside an acrylic glass coffin and buried underground while an installed web camera provided visuals of his plight to his coworkers who were initially helpless to save him. Grave Danger, Part 2 It turned out Nick was the target of an attack on the CSI team by a man whose daughter was implicated in a murder case. The deathtrap culminated when fire ants entered Nick's coffin and attacked him. Although Nick was in horrific agony in this ordeal, the ants gave Gil Grissom (who is an insect expert) a vital clue that allowed the team to determine his location. The box was also rigged with Semtex explosive. Thus informed, Nick's coworkers rushed to his rescue and managed to save him from the brink of death. Season Nine In the season 9 premiere, For Warrick, Nick is shown to remain calm and composed upon learning of Warrick's death. However, later, when confronting a wounded Undersheriff McKeen—Warrick's killer—the undersheriff goads an increasingly angry Nick into attempting to shoot him as well. Jim Brass hears a shot fired and arrives on the scene to find McKeen still alive and wounded, and a once-again calm Nick stating coldly that "he missed." In "The Grave Shift", after Catherine turned down the offer to move into Grissom's now-vacant office, she offered it to Nick—who accepted after some thought. He in turn decided to share the office space with Greg Sanders and Riley Adams, who are shown unpacking alongside him. Additionally, Grissom's infamous fetal pig in a jar has been placed in there as well, by Hodges. Season Ten Family Affair Nick is promoted to Assistant Supervisor on the Grave Yard shift after Sara advises Catherine that she needs a number two. Nick is also seen dealing with tarantulas, and is shown taking Grissom's old tarantula under his care. Meat Jekyll Nick was shot with a shotgun by Dr. Jekyll. He played dead on the floor until he was able to pick his gun off the floor, and then he killed Jekyll with a series of tightly grouped shots to his chest. Season Twelve Homecoming Nick meets Jeffrey McKeen again when he is connected to a triple murder. When he turns out to have corrupt cops inside the LVPD on his payroll, the dawning internal investigation brings up memories of Warrick's death for Nick, who announces to Greg and Sara that he intends to quit. Season Thirteen Karma to Burn Having quit the lab, Nick decides to celebrate by getting drunk outside of a liquor store, only to end up in jail after an altercation between him and two police officers. Sara finds Nick and asks him how many beers he's had tonight. She tells him he can quit tomorrow if he still wants to, but not tonight. After working with the team, he manages to rescue Kaitlyn Russell from Paul Kimball, a police officer on McKeen's payroll. Nick then decides that he wishes to stay with the team again and is welcomed back. Relationships Nick is usually affable and gets along with his co-workers. He considered co-worker Warrick Brown a very good friend. After Warrick died, Nick put together a college fund for his son. (Turn, Turn, Turn) He also often jokes and laughs with Greg Sanders even when the rookie CSI was still working as a lab technician. He often flirts with and teases Sara Sidle which highlights their relaxed friendship. He shares a good-natured relationship with former supervisor Gil Grissom, almost that of father and son, or mentor and apprentice. When Raymond Langston, the newest and least-experienced member of the team, joined the team, Nick acted as his right-hand man, giving him tips and helping with investigations. He is occasionally seen flirting with Catherine Willows, his good friend and co-worker. In a deleted scene in the Pilot the two shared a passionate kiss, so it's possible that in the original script they had an affair. Though he is not often seen with Conrad Ecklie, the former day shift supervisor, their relationship is a bumpy one. A sort of running gag throughout the series seems to indicate that whenever Nick gets with a woman, misfortune befalls someone else. In ''Boom, he slept with a prostitute called Kristy, as we find out when Nick tells Gil Grissom as Nick is a suspect in the murder of Kristy as she died later that early morning, as Jack her former boyfriend killed her, Nick quotes "I took off around 4"Nick and co-worker Catherine Willows go to a club together. Shortly after Nick hooks up with a woman at the club, Catherine is drugged and abducted. During breakfast with the team at a diner, Nick eyes a pretty waitress and stays behind to get her number while Warrick Brown leaves. (For Gedda) Shortly after, Warrick is murdered. It is often mentioned that Nick is something of a ladies' man. He got a phone number from a female suspect he interviewed at a wedding in Rashomama. However, the only onscreen romance over the course of the series was the brief affair with Kristy. Appearances Trivia * His call sign is Charlie O5 Stokes. In Season 10 he used the call sign Charlie O3 Stokes (Irradiator), and in season 15 he used the call sign Charlie O4 Stokes (The Greater Good). * In the season five finale Grave Danger, it is revealed that his father's nickname for him is "Pancho", and he in turn calls his father "Cisco" (probably a reference to the central characters in The Cisco Kid). His boss, Gil Grissom, later uses the "Pancho" nickname to calm Nick down while they are trying to rescue him from a coffin that has been rigged with explosives. * During the sixth season of CSI, Nick had a mustache, but soon got rid of it. * During the fourteenth season of CSI, Nick grew a beard. * Nick first had alcohol when he was 16 or 17. (4 x 4) * In the episode Targets of Obsession, it is revealed he lives at 922 Rose Avenue. * In "Panty Sniffer" he admitted to Ray that he has a weakness for cheerleaders. * In Stealing Home Nick is currently dating a nurse as well as Doc Robbins's niece Callie in season 12. * After Warrick's death, Nick set up a college fund for his son. (Turn, Turn, Turn) * Despite being one of the more well-adjusted members of the Night Shift, he has personally been the victim of a number of crimes during the course of the series: **He has had his car (and all the evidence inside it) stolen (Rashomama) **He has been kidnapped and buried alive (Grave Danger) **He has been held at gunpoint more than once (Who Are You); **He was stalked by Nigel Crane and he was thrown out of a second-story window (Stalker) **He was also accused of killing a prostitute, Kristy Hopkins before learning that he was framed by Jack Willman, the pimp who truly killed the prostitute. (Boom) **He was shot by Dr. Jekyll. ("Meat Jekyll") ** He was injured by a shock wave caused by a car bomb set by Jason McCann. His car was also destroyed by the explosion. ("Shock Waves") ** His house was booby trapped by Jason McCann. ("Targets of Obsession") * In Season 13 Episode 5, Nick is shown as having adopted Sam, a K9 dog whose partner died in the episode. * As of season 15 episode 1 The CSI Effect, George Eads (Stokes) is the only actor to be part of the main cast since the pilot. * He hates peanut butter ("The Finger" Season 2 Episode 14) and can't stand the stuff. * His sidearm of choice is a two-tone Heckler & Koch USP Compact (as of season 12). Previously, he used the Smith & Wesson 5906 (seasons 1-4) and Smith & Wesson SW99 with a nickel-plated slide (seasons 5-11). * He is fluent in Spanish as well as English. * He is the only original main character who does not appear in Immortality. References Category:CSI: Las Vegas Characters Category:Males Category:Crime Lab Personnel Category: CSI: Las Vegas Main Characters Category:Characters from Texas